Lichtenstein Castle Reviews

Germany has so many interesting and historic castles scattered all over the country, but these two castles – Hohenzolern and Lichtenstein – are located in the south near Munich. My interest for German castles was ignited by my short visit in the Rhein valley in 2012. There, I saw castles and ruins dotted along the Rhein River pretty much like the ones in Loire.

Hohenzolern, like most castles, was strategically built on a hill and standing majestically overlooking the valley. In fact, it can be easily spotted from the country road, which visitors take to reach the residential castle. Getting there however is no easy task. Cars can not be parked directly in the castle grounds, unless possessing a special permit, so visitors must either take the steep foot path –combinations of asphalted foot path and steps – or take the shuttle which go every 10 minutes. We decided that we are healthy people so we opted to take the challenging footpath.

So after 10 minutes of the tiring ascend, we were rewarded by the view of a gate welcoming us to the castle. We passed through several other gates and winding tunnel-like passage before reaching the main square of the castle. We were in fact very early that we did not have to pay for the entrance to the castle. We only had to pay 8 euros (student entrance rate) when we were tempted to see the interior, but it was just a few halls showcasing some of the properties of the royal family. So I would say, the exterior of the castle would be enough.

The next destination was the Lichtenstein castle. It was a short 40-minute drive away from the location of the Hohenzolern castle. Like the former castle, Lichtenstein was also built on a hill overlooking a valley. However, unlike the former, this castle is very accessible. From the parking space, we only had to cross the street and we were on the castle grounds. The entrance excluding the interior was 2 euros (student price). Two amazing characteristics of this castles are the wooden bridge connecting the main tower to the courtyard and fact the castle was built right on a rock at the edge of a ravine. Actually, from the observatory areas, we had a great view of the deep valley below us and the tower on the other side of the hill.

Well, such a surprise: I have seen plenty of photos of this beautiful castle all my life but never knew that it is just around the corner from the new location I am living at.

Getting up here to the top of the rock on where it's built takes you through landscapes reminding one slightly of some remote areas in the Alps.

A long narrow road leads far up to the parking lot and still a lot of trees cover the sudden surprise: The wall surrounding the compound already generates childhood memories from those classic fairytale books with its typical drawings.

Once gotten close to the cliff the castle prsents itself in the most iconic way. FANTASTIC!

Incredible that in former times a forester's lodge occupied the tip of the rock. But after awhile a local count decided to let a dream come true by building up a fairytale castle on the foundation of the lodge.

The castle itself is not very big and consists mostly of smaller rooms. To be true: It's quite rewarding because it makes it easier to imagine that people really lived in there once - and moreover - realizing how it has been.

Splendor is minimized into basic sized rooms and makes the visitor experience everything but cramped wealth.

The entire area with all its buildings is still property of the count's descendant who come over from time to time and also owning a vacation home in a house near the entry. Lucky people is all I can say!

A tour inside lasts normally between 30 and 40 minutes however our group took it to the maximum of an hour. This was an exception cus there is not enough space inside to take more than one group through the apartments.

Twice a week, Wednesday and Friday's, the guides offer an extended tour in the evening hours that also leads visitors to the rooms in the tower. Rooms are very narrow and small in there thus the regular tours cannot enter those areas during regular visits. Definitely a reason for me to come back!

We arrived at Lichtenstein castle and it was just like out of a fairytale. It was 2 euros for the parking and only 2 euros to get in, with the option of paying extra for a guided tour. We chose to just look at the grounds once again. The grounds were well kept and the castle looked in very good condtion. It was just magical to look at, felt like a child at heart when looking at it. The grounds for the castle were really small so we walked around it quite quickly, but we took lots of photos. I would definitely go back and I wuld recommend it to ayone who loves castles or just loves fairytals and things. I can imagine it would be a romantic destination too for some people. There are some view points which not only give lovely views of the caslte but also lovely views of the surroundin areas. I'd love to go back in the future!

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